Automatic weighing and package-filling apparatus.



N0 797,597. PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

W. B. NIOKERSON.

AUTOMATIG WBIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1902.

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' No. 797,597. PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

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AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1902

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PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

W. E. NIGKERSON. AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 11,1902.

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W. E. NIOKERSON. AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11, 1902.

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Wibzlcsses: flmw No. 797,597. PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905. W. B. NICKERSON.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

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W. E. NIGKERSON. AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1902.

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PATENTED AUG. 22 1905.

W. E. NIGKERSON. AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11.1902.

PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

W. B. NIGKBRSON.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1902.

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No. 797,597. PATENTED AUG. 22 1905.

W, E. NIOKERSON.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11,1902.

12 SHEETS-$15331 K1.

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No. 797,597. PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905. W. E. NIGKERSON.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE FILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11. 1902.

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UNITED STATES PATENT- orrionfi WILLIAM EMERY N ICKERSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, A IASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

A CORPORATION OF NEWV YORK.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING AND PACKAGE-FILLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed June 11, 1902. Serial No. 111,115.

To all w/wm it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM EMERY N101;- ERSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Veighing and Package Filling Apparatus, of which the following is a specifieation.

My invention relates to automatic weighing I apparatus, and is intended more particularly to provide a machine capable of weighing powdery substances-such as baking-powder, starch, and the like-with greater rapidity and accuracy, especially when the quantities desired are small, than have heretofore been attained.

A further object of my invention is to produce an apparatus adapted to receive in bulk the substance to be Weighed, to weigh out automatically the desired quantities thereof, to introduce and pack the loads weighed into the receptacles provided therefor, and to deliver the filled receptacles, the organization of the apparatus being such that the filling and delivery of the receptacles may be accomplished without making it necessary to employ for that purpose a separate device, such as a rotating table arranged to present the empty receptacles successively to the weighing-machine proper and to withdraw the same therefrom when filled, as has been customary hitherto.

Vith the above ends in view a main feature of my invention is the provision of certain improvements in the weighing mechanism proper, whereby the scale-beam and weighingbucket are freed completely from all functions and mechanical connections which might reduce the sensitiveness of the scalebeam by retarding or interfering with its tilting, such as flow-controlling and bucketdumping connections, which in one form or another have always been employed hitherto, so far as I am aware, and have prevented the weighing automatically with sufficient accuracy for commercial purposes of quantities of material below a certain limit of smallness. Another feature of my invention is the provision of a series or gang of weighing mechanisms proper arranged to deliver into a corresponding series of receptacles held in place by acommon support, which also serves to convey the receptacles through the machine and to permit the settling of the material therein, the operation of the various parts of the apparatus being so timed that each receptacle will remain under the proper weighing mechanism long-enough to receive a load therefrom and to have said load sufficiently settled or shaken down within it, while the apparatus as a whole will receive empty re ceptacles and fill and deliver the same with suflicient speed to require the whole time of an attendant in supplying empty receptacles and disposing of the filled ones.

Other features of my invention reside in a novel device for conveying the receptacles through the machine, for supporting them While being filled, and for settling the loads therein, which features, together with others of a subordinate nature, will be hereinafter set forth at length.

An apparatus embodying a preferred form of my improvements is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete apparatus looking at the right-hand end thereof. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through one of the weighing mechanisms proper, sl'iowing also the lower portion of afeeding device and a chute for conveying the material from the weighing-bucket to a receptacle, together with adjacent connecting and operating parts. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts of the weighing mechanism proper in side elevation, the delivery-chute below the same being omitted. Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a receptacle supporting and conveying device, taken on the line a a in Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 6 b in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus taken on four different planes and showing four separate weighing and delivery mechanisms, the planes on which said mechanisms are shown, taking them in order from left to right, being indicated in Fig. l by the lines 0 0, (Z (Z, a c, and. ff, respectively. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the left-hand end of the framework of the central portion of the machine, showing the arrangement by which the various parts of the apparatus are driven. Fig. 8 is a central vertical section of the feeding mechanism shown in side elevation in Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a vertical section, somewhat enlarged, of the lower art of the feeding device shown in Fig. 8, showing also a flow-controlling device. Fig. 10is a bottom-plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 9 with the funnel removed. Figs. 11, 12, and 13 are respectively an end elevation, at side elevation, and a central section of an adjustable cam which may be employed for operating said flow-controlling device. Figs. 14 and 15ar enlarged detail views, in front and side elevation, respectively, showing my preferred construction for supporting a weighing-bucket from its scale-beam. Figs. 16, 17, and 18 are respectively a rear elevation, a plan view, and a central vertical section of the lower portion of a weighingbucket, showing the bucket-closer and its connections. Figs. 19 and 20 are respectively a side elevation and a plan view of a rapping device hereinafter described. Fig. 21 is a detail view illustrating the manner in which one end of a conveyingbelt is brought close to the conveying-support hereinafter described. Fig. 22 is a plan 'view illustrating a portion of one end of said conveying-support and of a settling device hereinafter described. Fig. 23 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 22. Fig. 2 1 is an elevation of a partition located in the delivery-chute shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 25 is a plan view showing the arrangement of gearing which I prefer to employ for driving the feeding mechanism, and Fig. 26 is a similar view, on a smaller scale, illustrating more fully the arrangement of this gearing.

My apparatus is of the power-driven type and comprises,complete,abin or hopper adapted to receive in bulk a quantity of the material to be Weighed; a feeding device for delivering material from the bin to the weighing bucket or buckets; a flow-controlling device for regulating the delivery of material; one or more scale-beams, each provided with a weighingbucket and asuitable weight; means for dumping the weighing bucket or buckets; a chute for conveying each load from the weighing-bucket to a receptacle; a supporting and conveying device arranged to receive empty receptacles from a conveying belt or apron to position the same at the proper intervals beneath a delivery-chute and to deliver the filled receptacles to -a second conveying belt or apron adapted to transport them to any desired point, and a device for shaking down or settling each load as fast as it is delivered into its receptacle, in combination with mechanisms suitable for effecting the operation of the various parts of the apparatus at the proper times and in the proper manner.

The framework of the apparatus shown comprises two upright end portions 2, supported on a base 3, provided with legs 4 and connected and braced apartby suitable crossrods 5 and the like at a suliicient distance to accommodate between them a number of weighing mechanisms arranged side by side. To the top of the end portions 2 is secured a bin or receptacle 6, extending from one end of the machine to the other. This bin is adapted to receive a considerable quantity of material in bulk and is provided at its bot tom with one or more discharge-openings, according to the number of weighing mechanisms employed. The machine shown in the drawings has six of such weighing mechan isms, and accordingly the bin 6 will have six discharge-openings, each of which is preferably provided with a flow-controlling device and also in cases where the nature of the substance weighed requires it with a feeding device adapted to assist in the delivery of material through the opening. To construct the feeding mechanism herein shown, (see Figs. 8, 9, and 10,) the plate 7, forming the bottom of the bin 6, is provided at each point where a discharge-opening is desired with a number of perforations 8, preferably arranged in a circle, and a flat spider 9, havinganumber of radial arms 10, is journaled to rotate on the top of said plate, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and is secured, preferably by interlocking fingers 11, to a vertical shaft 12, passing upward out of the bin 6 and there provided with means for rotating it, so that upon the rotation of said shaft the radial arms 10 will be moved successively around the circumference of the fixed plate 7 and will serve to agitate the adjacent material and to feed portions of the same through the openings 8. I prefer to make said openings 8 of sufficient size to permit the rapid delivery of an approximate load of material and to provide in addition thereto another opening or series of openings adapted to deliver a small or drip stream of material, the latter opening being shownat 13 in Fig. 10 and consisting, preferably, of a narrow slit cut through the plate 7 on a circle described from the central axis 14;, on which the spider 9 is journaled. constructed the arms 10 of the spider 9 will act to feed material through the slit 13 in the manner above described, and in order to keep said slit from clogging with material a pin or teeth 15 may be secured to the under side of each arm 10, with its lower end projecting into the slit and acting to clear the same from material at each rotation thereof. It will be noticed that those portions of the plate 7 which lie on opposite sides of the circular slit 13 are united and kept integral by radial ribs 16, formed on the bottom of said plate, said slit being cut deep enough to penetrate said plate between the ribs, but not deep enough to reach the bottom of said ribs. The features just described are not claimed herein broadly, but only in combination with certain other features, as hereinafter set forth, the construction referred to being broadly claimed in another application for Letters Patent, filed by me on the 8th day of February, 1898, Serial No. 669,499, and issued as Patent No. 7 06,588, dated August 12, 1902.

As thus The portions of material which fall through the perforations 8 are received by a suitable conveying device, such as a funnel 17, secured to the bottom of the bin 6, preferably by being clamped, by means of removable thumb-nuts 18 hearing against a flange 19. formed on said funnel, to a ring 20, rigidly fastened to the plate 7, so that the funnel may readily be removed to give access to the feeding device above described. To control the flow of material through the feeding device, I prefer to employ an oscillating plate 21, closely held between the plate 7 and the ring 20, the latter being suitably recessed to receive said plate 21, which is journaled concentrically with the spider 9 and is provided with apertures 22, adapted to register with the perforations 8 in the plate 7, so that by moving the plate 21 in one direction the apertures 8 and 22 will be made to register, and thereby to permit a flow of material through the same, while by moving it in the other direction the unperforated portions of the plate 21 will be made to close said apertures, and thus to cut ofi the flow of material through the same.

My preferred form of weighing mechanism is so constructed as to make it unnecessary to cut off the drip stream of material upon the completion of a load, because in weighing baking-powder and similar materials it is found that if the flow of a fine stream of material is cut off it is apt to be'slow and irregular in starting again on account of the clogging and compacting of the material at and near the point of delivery by the pressure of the mass above it. Accordingly I have shown the oscillating plate 21 as journaled on a circular flange 23, projecting downward from the bottom of the plate? outside of the slit 13 and at the outer ends of the ribs 16, said oscillating plate being thus provided with a central opening, through which the drip stream ofinaterial will fall continuously. The circular slot'2 1, out through the plate 7 near its center, is for the purpose of permitting any material which may find its way in between the spider 9 and the top of said plate to fall into the funnel 17, the feeding device being thus made self-cleaning and prevented from clogging with material, and the notches 25, cut in the bottom edge of the flange 23, serve in a similar manner to keep the bearing-surface between said flange and the plate 21 free from material. The perforations 8 and 22 are preferably so formed that when coincident the diameter of each of the openings thereby provided increases slightly in passingfrom the top to the bottom thereof, the object being to facilitate the passage of the material through these openings, and thus to prevent their becoming clogged therewith. The slot 24:, it will be noted, is covered at all timesby the central portion of the spider 9, and hence! has no effect on the feeding of the materialto the funnel 17.

Suitable mechanism is provided for driving the vertical shafts 12 continuously, preferably consisting of a horizontal shaft 26, journaled at its ends near the top of the machine and driven from any suitable source of power, driving connections between the shafts 26 and 12 being furnished, preferably, by means of pairs of intermeshing spiral gears 27 and 28, secured to said shafts, respectively, and shown in detail in Fig. 25. I prefer to connect each spiral gear 28 with its shaft 12 by means of a species of friction-clutch, such as a collar 29, secured to said shaft and clamped against said gear by means of a clampingscrew 30, entering the end of the shaft 12 and bearing upon the top of said gear, the thread of said screw being cut in such a direction that in case the rotation of any one of the shafts 12 is obstructed in any manner the effect of the continued rotation of the corresponding gear 28 will be to unscrew its clampsorew 30, and thus to relieve the frictionclutch from pressure and allow said gear to slip on the collar 29. In this manner the stoppingof any one or more of the shafts 12 is prevented from interrimting the rotation of the shaft 26 and of the other shafts 12 with their feeding devices. In order to relieve the shaft 26 from the eflect of the end thrust which each gear 27 tends to give it, I prefer to cut the gears so as to cause half of the shafts 12 to rotate in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction, so that the end thrust on the shaft 26 caused by each pair of gears 27 and 28 will be balanced by an equal thrust caused by another pair of said gears. This arrangement is indicated in Fig. 26, in which the end gears only are shown, it being understood that each two pairs of the remaining gears are similarly arranged.

An important feature of the above-described arrangement of the shafts 12 and 26 is that the latter shaft being journaled at its ends only which are at the sides of the machine does not have to be lubricated at any point from which the oil could possibly fall into the material weighed, thus insuring cleanness as wellas efliciency. The bin 6 is preferably provided with a removable door 31, through which access may be had to the interior of said bin above the feeding devices.

For operating the oscillating plates 21 1 provide a horizontal shaft 32, extending across the machine and journaled in the end portions 2, said shaft being rotated continuously by suitable connections, such as hereinafter described. Opposite each plate 21 said shaft is provided with an adjustable cam of peculiarv construction. and 13.) As therein shown, said cam consists of three collars 33, 34, and 35, the collars 33 and 35 being fixed to the shaft 32.

The col- (Best shown in Figs. 11, 12,

lars 34 and ,35are provided, respectively, with projections 36 and 36, each extending laterally from the circumference of its collar toward the other collar and forming a cam-face, and the collar 34 is made adjustable circumferentially with respect to the collar 35, preferably by providing the fixed collar 33 with two diametrically opposite set screws 37, adapted to bear against the collar 34 and force its hub against the collar 35, and thereby clamp the former in any position to which it may be adjusted. Opposite each of these cams an arm 38 is journaled to oscillate horizontally on a fixed pivot 39 and is provided at its ends with pivots or pins 40 and 41, the former projecting into a slot 42, formed in a lateral extension 43 of the corresponding oscillating plate 21 and the other pin 41 being located between the collars 34 and 35 in position to be acted upon successively by the cam-faces formed by the projections 36 and 36 as the shaft 32 rotates, As thus constructed upon the rotation of said shaft the projection 36 or 36 on one of the collars 34 and 35 will engage the pin 41 on the arm 38 and will oscillate said arm, and with it the plate 21, to shut off the flow of material through the same. Said plate, arm, and pin will then remain in the positions to Which they have been moved until the projection on the other collar engages said pin,

and moves it back again to its formerposition, whereupon the flow-controlling device will be opened and will remain open until d uring the next rotation of the shaft 32 the arm 38 is again oscillated to cut off the flow, and it Will be seen that by adjusting the collar 34 circumferentially withrespeet to the collar 35 the closing of the flow-controlling device may be made to occur as soon after the opening thereof as may be desired, so that the period of delivery of the bulk stream of material may thereby beregulated with accuracy. The material fed into each funnel 17 falls therefrom into a corresponding weighing-bucket 44, being transmitted thereto along an inclined chute, the angle of which is made adjustable in any suitable manner, preferably by constructing the chute in three parts 45, 46, and 47, of which the part 45 is rigidly secured to the'open bottom of the funnel 17. The part 46 is pivoted at its upper end to the sides of the part 45 and rests at its lower end within the top of the part 47, and the latter is adjustably supported by means, such as a slotted arm 48, rigidly secured thereto and arranged to be clamped in any desired position by a bolt 49, passing through the slot in the arm 48 into a fixed rod or other support 50, forming a part of the framework of the machine, the arm 48 being curved substantially on the arc of a circle of which the lower end of the part 47 is the center, so that said lower end will remain in practically the same position regardless of the angle to which the part 47 may be adjusted.

Each bucket 44 is suspended from one end of a scale-beam 51, mounted on knife-edges 52 in any suitable manner and carrying at its other end a weighing-weight This weighing-weight 53 is preferably located on the top side of the beam 51, so that said beam will overbalance when it is tilted by the filling of the bucket, or, in other words, so that the beam will be in unstable equilibrium when in a horizontal position, the object of this arrangement being to cause the downward movement of the bucket 44 to accelerate when the beam tilts in order that the supply of material may be eut from the bucket as quickly as possible. I. also prefer to make the weighing-weight removable and to provide the corresponding end of the beam 51 with knifeedges 54, on which a testing-weight 55 may be suspended. .lt will be understood that these testing-Weights are for occasional use only and are not employed during the normal operation of the apparatus. The downward movement of the weighted end of the beam 51 is limited by suitable means, such as an adjustable stop-pin 56, and its upward movement may be limited by asimilar stop-pin 57.

For suspending the bucket 44 from the scalebeam I have devised a novel arrangement, (shown in detail in Figs. 14 and 15,) according to which the bucket-carrying end of the scale-beam is made double, thus providing two arms 58, to which are secured at their outer ends alined knife-edges 59. A hanger 60, secured at its lower end to the bucket 44, passes upward between the arms 58 and is formed or provided at its upper end with a cross-piece 61, the ends of which project over the corresponding ends of the arms 58 and carry blocks 62, provided on their bottom faces with grooves which receive the knife-edges 59. To prevent any end wise motion of the hanger 60 along the knife-edges 59, a small plate 63 may be secured to the outer end of each of the blocks 62 in position to overlap the adjacent end of the corresponding knife-edge. Each block 62 is located within a recess 64, formed in one end of the cross-piece 61, being mounted therein on a horizontal pivotpin 65, in order that said blocks may automatieally adjust themselves to make contact with both knife-edges 59 throughout their lengths. hanger 60 is thus provided, and in order to prevent the accidental displacement thereof from the arms 58 l secure to each end of the cross-piece 61 a small rod or wire 66, having its lower end 67 so bent that it will extend under the end of the corresponding arm 58 at such a distance therefrom as will prevent the block 62 from being lifted away from said arm far enough to permit the removal of the knife-edge 59 from the groove in which it rests, all possibility of the accidental displacement of the' bucket from the scale-beam being thus efiectively prevented.

A broad and stable support for the To provide for detaching the bucket from the scale-beam when desired, I prefer to make the ends of the cross-piece 61 thicker than its middle portion and to pivot the wires 66 to the inner faces of these thickened end portions, as by bending the upper ends of said wires into parallelism with their lower ends 67 and inserting them into holes drilled in said end portions, as best shown in Fig. 14, the wires 66 being held in their normal position by means of a catch 68, which is pivoted to the head 61 and arranged to engage said wires and hold them in vertical grooves, in which their upper portions lie, so that they cannot be accidentally turned to withdraw their lower ends 67 from under the arms 58. When it is desired to detach a bucket from its scalebeam, the catch 68 is turned on its pivot, the upper ends of the wires 66 are partially withdrawn from the holes in which they lie, and their lower ends 67 are then turned from under the ends of the arms 58, thereby permitting the hanger 60 to be lifted therefrom.

One of the features of my invention relates to means for stopping the flow of material into a weighing-bucket upon the completion of a load and for starting the flow again after the bucket has discharged its load, and another important feature relates to novel means whereby the successive loads are discharged from the bucket, the result of the concurrent use of these features being that the weighing-bucket at the instant when a load is completed therein is wholly free from and un hampered by any mechanical connections whatsoever with flow-controlling or bucketdumping mechanism, whereby the sensitiveness of the weighing apparatus proper might be interfered with. Thus for controlling the flow of material from the delivery-chute to the bucket I secure to said bucket a supple- -mentary chute 69, which is inclined at an angle sufficient to cause the material to flow along it and is so arranged that when the bucket is in its highest position ready to receive a load the material flowing through the spout 47 will fall into the bucket; but when the bucket has received the exact amount constituting a full load and thereupon begins to descendits downward movement will immediately carry the chute 69 into such a position that all the material which thereafter flows through said spout L7 will be delivered into the chute 69 instead of into the bucket a4 until the bucket rises again, said material being thenceconveyed by said chute through or past the side of the bucket and into a suitable receptacle, such as a fixed trough 70, extending from end to end of the machine past the several buckets and provided with a screw conveyer 71 or equivalent device whereby the material thus delivered into it may be removed and conveyed back to the bin 6 or elsewhere. According to the arrangement Shown in the drawings the trough 7 O is open bucket, as shown in Fig. 6.

at that end toward which the material is forced by the conveyer 71, the material being discharged therefrom into any suitable receptacle. (Not shown.) The conveyer 71 is continuously rotated by means of a wheel 72, secured to one end thereof and driven from the shaft 26, which serves as the main driving-shaft of the machine.

The lower end of each bucket M is provided with a movable bottom 73, adapted to be opened and closed, which is preferably hinged thereto at one edge and is normally held closed by means of aspring 7 4. My pre ferred arrangement of these parts isillustrated in detail in Figs. 16, 17, and 18, in which the bottom 73 is shown as extended beyond the walls of the bucket, at one side thereof, and provided with two upright arms 75, rigidly secured to these extended portions, said arms 75 being journaled on the ends of a rod 7 6, secured to the side of the bucket. The spring 74: is coiled around this rod 76 and has its ends made fast, as by hooking them over a rod 77, secured to the support which carries the rod 76, while its central portion is extended and bent under the central portion of the bottom 73, where it is held in a grooved boss 78. In order to insure a tight fit at all points between the bucket and its bottom when the latter is closed, the arms 75 are vertically slotted to receive the ends of the rod 76, as shown in Fig. 16, so that by reason of the play thus provided the spring 7 1 will act to press the hinged edge as well as the free edge of the bottom 73 against the bucket. To this same end, the spring 74 is caused to engage the center of said bottom, as above described. Each of the arms 75 is provided at its upper end on the same side of the rod 76 as the center of the bucket with an outwardly-projecting pin '79 for a purpose hereinafter set forth.

For opening the bottom 73 after the bucket has been filled I provide a mechanism which is positively operated at regular intervals by its connection with the driving mechanism of the apparatus and is so arranged that if operated after a bucket has been filled and has descended to its lowest position it will engage the pins 79 and force the hinged bottom 73 open against the tension of the spring 74, while if operated when the bucket is empty or only partially filled, and hence is not in the position above referred to, it will not engage said pins 79 at all, the result being that it will be impossible for the contents of the bucket to be discharged except after it has received and is ready to deliver a full load. My preferred form of mechanism for operating the hinged bottom 73 as just described comprises a counterweighted arm I 80, supported on the framework of the machine by pivot-s, as at 81, and forked at that end which is opposite the counterweight, so as to partially embrace the A latch 82 is pivoted at its upper end to the end of each fork of the arm 80 and is provided near its lower end with a notch 83 and prolonged beyond the same to form adownwardly-projecting finger 84:, the function of which is to engage the corresponding pin 79 and guide the same into the notch 83 when the bucket M is in position to be dumped and the arm 80 is depressed. Each latch 82 is also provided with a small counterweight 85 or equivalent device arranged to throw said latch away from the pin 79 after the bucket has discharged its load and risen to its load-receiving position and the latch 82 has been lifted above said pin 79. For operating the arms 80 at periodic intervals I prefer to employ a shaft 86, journaled in the end portions 2 of the machine and driven from the shaft 26, as hereinafter described, a cam being secured to the shaft 86 directly above each of the arms 80 and arranged to depress the same upon each rotation of said shaft. Each arm 80 is bent upward at or near its forked end, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the pivoted ends of the latches 82, which it carries; are normally higher than the pivots 81, on which it turns. The result of this arrangement is that when the arm 80 is depressed the notches 83 will have a lateral movement toward the corresponding pins 79, and these parts are so proportioned that if the arm 80 is depressed when the bucket a4 is in its highest or load receiving position the notches 83 will pass below the pins 79 before moving laterally far enough to engage them, while if said bucket is in its lowest or loaddischarging position said notches in moving downward to the level of the pins 79 will also move laterally far enough to engage the same and force open the hinged bottom 7 3. Thus the scale-beam and bucket when the latter is filled are wholly free from and unhampered by any mechanical connection whatever with the bucket-dumping mechanism. and the operation of the latter is made certain at the proper times and impossible at all other times, as previously stated.

Inasmuch as the time required for the bucket 44; to discharge its load may vary, owing to the size of the'load or to the nature of the material weighed, it is desirable to provide for holding the arms 80 depressed for any length of time desired, and to this end I have devised a novel form of cam, consisting of two parts 87 and 88, which may be made substantially alike and are located side by side on the shaft 86, one of said parts, as 88, being secured rigidly to said shaft and the other part 87 being loosely journaled thereon and adj ustabl y clamped to the part 88 by means of a thumbscrew 89,passing through a slot 90, formed in said part 87. The parts 87 and 88 are provided, respectively, with cam-faces 91 of similar configuration and arranged side by side, so that by properly adjusting the part 87 with respect to the part 88 the said cam-faces may be made to coincide exactly, thus providing for a downward throw of the shortest duration, or one of the cam-faces may be made to lap past the other, and thus increase their combined operative length to any desired extent not exceeding the combined length of the two cam-faces, in which latter case a downward throw of maximum duration would be given to the arm 80. It will be understood, of course, that both of these cam-faces 91 bear upon the arm 80 or upon the antifrietion-roller 92, with which it is provided, so that any portion of either cam-face will be competent to operate said arm 80.

It will be evident that the hinged bottom 73 of the bucket 4% must be closed before said bucket is permitted to rise far enough to carry the upper end of the chute 69 above the stream flowing through the spout 47, since otherwise some material would fall through the bucket without being weighed, and I accomplish this result in a very simple manner with the mechanism above described by giving the spring 7 4 a tension such that when the bottom 73 is closed it will be held closed by said spring with a force greater than that exerted by the weighing-weight 53 tending to lift the bucket, or, in other words, greater than the weight of a full load of material. The result of so constructing the spring 74 is twofold. 1n the first place, it renders unnecessary any catch or other locking device for holding the bottom 73 closed, and, in the second place, since when the bucket is in its lowest position and the hinged bottom 73 has been forced open the force of said spring is never less than the bucket-lifting force exerted by the weight 53 and is exerted as much to draw the bucket downward as to draw the bottom 73 up against the bucket. The result is that as the latches 82 are permitted by the cam-face 91 to move upward from the position shown in Fig. 3 the first effect produced by the spring 74 is to close the hinged bottom 73, the bucket 44: be-

ing held immovable in its lowest position until this result has been accomplished, whereupon the spring 74 being then incapable of further action the latches 82 in their further upward movement are followed by the bucket 44 until the corresponding movement of the scale-beam is arrested by the stop 56. The latches 82 are then allowed to move upward enough farther to permit them to disengage themselves from the pins 79, and they then remain at rest until the next revolution of the shaft 86 forces the arm 80 down again. 1 prefer so to form the cam-faces 91 that the upward movement of the arm 80, and consequently that of the bucket 4 L, will bea gradual one, thus imparting no shock or jar to the scale-beam or knife-edges and reducing the wear of those parts.

in weighing substances like baking-powder,

which tend to adhere to any surface with whielr they come in contact, it is important to dislodge such adhering portions from the walls of the weighing-bucket when a load is discharged therefrom in order that the load may not be made inaccurate by the withholding of said portions therefrom or by the addition thereto of similar portions of apreviousload, and to this end I provide a device for automatically rapping or jarring each bucket 14 when in its discharging position. This device preferably consists of a spring-actuated lever 93, journaled on the framework of the machine and provided at one end with a hammer 94, adapted to strike against an anvil 95, secured to the bucket 14, when said bucket is in its lowest position. The blow of the hammer 9% is delivered by tripping the lever 93 by means such as a cam 96, which may be conveniently secured to the shaft 86 and is so arranged with respect to the cams which operate the arm 80 that said lever will be tripped just before the hinged bottom 73 of the bucket 4a is permitted to close. This arrangement for freeing the weighing-bucket from adhering portions of the substance weighed is substantially the same as that shown and described in my prior patent,-No. 667,560, granted February 5, 1901, being broadly claimed therein.

In order to guidethe bucket 44 in its movements and to steady it while undergoing the operation of the bucket-dumping and bucketrapping mechanisms, a link 97 may be pivoted at one end to the side of the bucket near its bottom and at the other end to the framework of the machine, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and in order to relieve the scalebeam 51 from strains and shocks which might otherwise be imparted to it by the operations of said dumping and rapping mechanisms I prefer to provide each bucket with asupport 98, adjustably secured to the framework of the machine and having its lower end located under the center of the cross-piece 61 at'the top of the hanger 60 in such position that when the bucket descends said cross-piece will rest upon the support 98 simultaneously with or just before the engagement of the beam 51 with the stop 57, the weight of the bucket and its contents being thus supported independently of the-beam during the operations above referred to. The accidental displacement'of the knife-edges 52 from their supporting-blocks may be prevented by means of a rod 99, extending from end to end of the machine directly above the centers of the beams 51 and eccentrically journaled at its ends in the end portions 2 of the framework, so that by turning said rod it may be brought close enough to the top of the beams to prevent said knife-edges from being lifted out of the grooves in which they rest without interfering with the tilting of the beam. The rod 99 is then secured in this position in any suitable manner, as by means of a washer 100, (see Fig. 1,) clamped against one of the end portions 2 by a screw passing through said washer into the end of said rod.

Materials of the kind which the machine herein described is particularly intended to weigh ordinarily have to be settled or shaken down in the receptacles into which the loads are delivered, and therefore instead of permitting the weighing-buckets to discharge directly into the receptacles it is desirable to cause them to discharge into funnel like chutes, which during the filling operation are tightly fitted at their lower ends to the tops of the receptacles, respectively, and serve to hold any excess of material until said receptacles have been sufficiently agitated to settle their contents and enable them to take in full weights. An arrangement for this purpose is shown and described in my Letters Patent above referred to, in which a rotating table brings a series of funnels under the weighing mechanism successively. According to my present invention a funnel 101 is permanently located under each weighing-bucket and preferably has its sides inclined at a suitable angle, since powdery materials are less likely to stick, clog, or blow when sliding down an inclined surface than when falling directly through a vertical passage. Each funnel 101 is supported on theforked end of a lever 102, which is pivotally supported, as at 103, on the framework of the machine and is operated to raise and lower the funnel a short distance by means, such as acam 104, secured to a shaft 105 and bearing against the free end of the lever 102, Which is preferably provided with an antifrictionroller 106. The shaft 105 is driven continuously by means such as hereinafter described, and in order that the period during which the funnel is lowered may be varied to correspond with the period of load discharge from the bucket I prefer to construct the cams 104 like the cams which operate the arms 80, thus obtaining a similar adjustment in the operation of the lever 102. The purpose of providing for an upward movement of the funnels 101 is to enable them to be lowered upon the top of a receptacle while a load of material is being discharged into it, a series of receptacles being brought under the funnel successively and temporarily held there, as here inafter described, and in order to obtain a tight fit between the bottom of the funnel and the top of each receptacle 1 provide the lower end of said funnel with a closely-fitting ring 107, having a laterally-extending flange 108 near its lower end, the bottom of said flange being covered with a ring or washer 109, of felt or similar semi-elastic material, which is adapted to rest upon the top edge of areceptacle when the funnel is lowered and to make a tight joint therewith. The lower end of the ring 107 should project slightly below the felt ring 109, so that it may enter the top of the receptacle and keep the same centered with respect to the bottom of the funnel. A number of rings 107 with bottom portions of different size are provided to correspond with receptacles of difi'erent diameters and are made detachable from the funnels 101, preferably by cutting a number of vertical slits in the upper portion of each ring which extends through its top edge, and thus form flexible fingers 110, which are clamped against the walls of the funnel by suitable means, such as a jointed ring 111,the ends of which are drawntogether by a thumb-screw 112. In order to provide for the escape of the air contained within each receptacle without causing it to pass through the mass of descending material, and thus to blow and scatter the same, the funnels 101 may be provided, respectively, with a partition 113, which is shown in detail in Fig. 24 and is secured to its funnel by means of a hook 114, attached to its upper end. upper end with notches 115, through which the air escapes from one side of the partition as the material descends past its other side.

I will now describe those portions of my invention which relate to the feeding of empty receptacles to the weighing and load-delivering mechanism, to the settling of successive loads of material delivered therefrom, and to the removal of the filled receptacles from the machine.

It will be noticed that each set of mechanisms for feeding, weighing, and delivering the successive loads, although constructed exactly like every other set, is nevertheless wholly independent of the other sets as to the time when its various operations take place, for the reason that the latter depend only upon the position of the various cams upon the shafts 32, 86, and 105, and hence by properly adjusting these cams the several sets of mechanisms may be made to operate one after the other in regular order, so that I am able to cause the machine to deliver a continuous series of filled receptacles and at the same time to give each load ample time to be shaken down in the receptacle to which it is delivered while the other weighing and delivering mechanisms are in various stages of their operation and before another load is discharged from the particular mechanism which has filled the said receptacle. In order, however, to make this arrangement fully operative, it is desirable that the mechanism for supplying empty receptacles and removing filled ones shall be made as independent of the various sets of weighing and delivering mechanisms as the latter are of each other, to the end that whenever any one of said sets is ready to receive an empty receptacle the latter may be promptly supplied thereto and whenever a filled receptacle is ready to be removed such removal will be effected immediately. To

accomplish these results, I have devised what may be called a feeding-table, which is lo- This partition 113 is provided near its cated horizontally under the series of deliveryfunnels 101 and is stationary as a whole, although composed of parts which are in constant motion, the result being that the table is always present to support a receptacle while being filled and at the same time is always in motion, ready to bring up empty receptacles as fast as necessary and to remove the filled ones. My feeding-table is composed, according to the construction shown, of a series of horizontal parallel rods 116, which are rotated continuously in the same direction and extend from end to end of the machine, being spaced apart sufliciently to permit any material which may be spilled thereon to fall between them into a tray or box (not shown) placed under the machine and at the same time being snlliciently near each other to form a stable support for the receptacles. These rods 116 are supported and rotated, preferably, by causing their ends to rest upon the horizontal top surfaces of two endless belts 117, located, respectively, at the ends of the machine outside of the base 3 and each passed around drums 118 and 119. The two drums 118 are secured to a common shaft 120, and the two drums 119 are secured to a parallel shaft 121, these shafts being continuously driven, as hereinafter described. The rods 116 are held against endwise movement and kept at proper distances from one another preferably by'turning a groove 122 in each rod 116 adjacent to the inner edges of the belts 117 and locating said grooves in a corresponding series of notches 123, formed in the upper edges of two horizontal strips 124, secured to the base 3, one at each end thereof. This arrangement permits the rods 116 to be brought as close together as may be desired. The rods 116, taken collectively, thus form a feeding-table adapted to carry a receptacle from one side of the machine to the other whenever such receptacle is free to move, and for the purpose of bringing up empty receptacles to one side of the feeding-table and removing the filled receptacles from the other side thereof two conveying belts or aprons 125 and 126 may be employed, which pass, respectively, around drums 127, journa-lcd near the sides of the table and extend therefrom to any'convenient points, where they are driven in the usual manner. In order to bring said aprons close to the edges of the feeding-table, I have devised an arrangement (best shown in Figs. 1 and 21) according to which two rollers 128 and 129 are located between each drum 127 and the corresponding edge of the feeding-table parallel with the same, said rollers 12S and 129 being journaled at their ends in slots 1.30, formed in fixed supports 131, which are so located that the ends of the axes of said rollers will lie substantially in a straight line leading from the axes of the corresponding drum 127 to that of the end rod 116 at the adjacentedge 

